


Shawn’s Hunch

by Valeriee



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16766665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valeriee/pseuds/Valeriee
Summary: Shawn is unable to understand how, for just four humans, Michael could betray his own people. And then it hits him, it’s not about JUST FOUR humans, it all about JUST ONE human..





	1. Shawn’s Hunch

Shawn captures Michael, ties him to a chair, and smugly, begins a monologue.

“Do you not think I know what is happening here, Michael? You chose four humans, perfectly suited to torture each other, except one of those humans, ended up torturing you! You know everything about her and yet, she kept outsmarting you. Soon it became less about perfecting the experiment, and more about defeating her. But of course the rest of the demons could clearly see the experiment had failed miserably and there was no point in rebooting it any more times. So you had them thinking it had finally worked. And you did that by getting the humans on your side. Asking them to pretend they believe they’re in the good place in return of actually sending them there. Of course your motive was to hide your failures from me, your boss, but somewhere along this whole alliance you’d formed with the humans, you ended up wanting to go there yourself. You did unthinkable things, after all, you are, still, and will always be, a demon. How you were able to go against all of us for just four humans was beyond me. So I got my hands on the record of all the reboots good Janet had saved. Don’t look so surprised we have our ears on all of you! Anyways I watched the reboots, including the final attempt where you’d teamed up with them, and after watching them it became very clear to me what had happened. Once you and the humans were on the same team against us, you still often unknowingly began torturing them, or let them be tortured, like that time with Chidi and the nails! But Eleanor, oh Michael, I’d love to say you STOPPED torturing her after teaming up but in reality, you never truly tortured her at all, did you? Throughout this whole experiment, the only real torture she faced, was being led to believe she was sent to the good place by mistake, which was basically just a premise to get all the humans to interact with each other. She did things you didn’t anticipate, like her confession in the first attempt. And since you love challenges, what better challenge than defeating this sneaky little so and so, your words not mine!-“

“Shawn cut to the point please!” Michael said, rolling his eyes as he’d had enough. (But also because he knew where this was going)

“The point is”, Shawn continues, “YOU, TIED UP, WILLINGLY! You willingly turned yourself in to save Eleanor, as she’s the one we’d captured. She’s a mere human and, is really of no use to us as her days, along with the days of the rest of the humans, in Janet’s void are anyways numbered as once we let the judge in on what you’ll are up to, she will order them out of there and, well you already know where they’ll end up after that.. The real reason I caught Eleanor was to get my hands on you. After watching all these reboots, and observing you on earth, I’ve come to understand that no matter what happens, you will do whatever it takes to save Eleanor, whether it be from the bad place, from us, from herself, and it’s not just saving her, you can’t even let her be sad. I mean, tahani also had amends to make with her sister, fighting with whom, which by the way, is the very reason she died! But i never saw you get involved in this the way you did with Eleanor‘s family drama with her mother.. You’ve actually always prioritized Eleanor over them all. Initially it was just a hunch, I actually almost revealed it to you back on earth in front of Eleanor, but before I could, you sent me back! But the way you pushed Eleanor back and stepped right in front of her today as a shield, asking me to let her go and take you instead, has turned that hunch into a very firm belief. I started sensing this when you first tried escaping us, and you sent her through the portal to the judge instead of going yourself. Now Michael if it wasn’t for good Janet you’d still be getting tortured in that room reading New Yorkers. That really was a very big risk you took there for just one human.. You know what. I’m not gonna say it. I’m gonna ask you to say it. Why are you the way you are towards Eleanor? Tell me and I’ll untie you. See you betrayed us, and I just want you punished as a result, so no other architect ever does that. What happens to the rest of the humans is no longer my business. My idea of having you punished was to bring you back here to the bad place but, now that we’re having this conversation, I’ve changed my mind. The real way to torture you, would be to let you tag along to wherever those humans go, let you make plans with them about ‘making it to the good place’. And to let you actually go to the good place! That’s right I’ll help you and the humans plead your case to the judge. I’ll get everyone else on board too. You know why? Because it won’t be just Eleanor you’ll be going to the good place with! The other three humans will be there too, including Chidi who, Eleanor is very much in love with. Living in the good place, watching them be in love would be the perfect torture for you Michael. Oh how I wish I could be there to witness it myself. But yes, I’m gonna let you go. All you have to do is say it!”

Michael calmly responds

“You’re wrong! Nothing would bring me more joy than to watch Eleanor AND everyone else to live happily in the good place. It’s what they deserve. They’re ALL good people! That’s why I’m helping them. Because the failure of my experiment made me realize they’re not bad people, they’re capable of becoming good, and good they became. And once they reach the judge-“

Shawn irritatedly cuts him off right there. 

“Don’t change the topic Michael. Fine! If you won’t say it I will.”

“You’re in lo-“

As Shawn is saying this Michael watches Eleanor walk towards them! Millions of thoughts go through his head, why was she there, who brought her there, he clearly let them have him on the condition that they let her go, etc. but the biggest concern he had, as Eleanor reached closer, was to stop Shawn from completing that sentence! 

He knows Shawn obviously won’t stop on seeing Eleanor, rather he’ll repeat it to make sure she hears it in case she didn’t! So Michael, out of desperation, has no option but to trick Shawn into thinking Michael is still with the demons and has a rather bigger plan to torture these humans!

“Forgive me, since you’re the boss and I’m speaking this way, but I can not believe you fell for my gambit!” 

Eleanor reaches at the door and is about to interrupt but, gets startled at what she hears next...


	2. The Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael tells the perfect lie to trick Shawn, but the lie ends up being too perfect, and tricks more than just Shawn...

“I’m not actually helping the humans get into the good place! See, having them believe they’re in the good place failed miserably, and sure I teamed up with them so you don’t retire me, and yes I did promise them a way into the good place and I intended to go through with it even, but, can you blame me? My boss gave me my first ever solo project and I failed, miserably. Of course I was desperate to cover it up. But once i had it all under control, and you were gonna take them to the actual bad place and tell everyone of our ‘successful’ experiment, I felt something was missing. The whole point of this experiment was to innovate the whole torture game, now having humans torture each other didn’t really do anything, but, having the humans tirelessly fight to get to the good place, thinking an actual demon is helping them get there, go as far as to reach the judge, get sent back to earth, and THEN end up in the bad place, now THAT would be some torture they’d remember for eternity. See Eleanor’s true torture isn’t being led to believe she was sent to the good place by mistake, it’ll be the constant reminder that she’s in the bad place, by mistake!”

Eleanor couldn’t believe what she was hearing! Initially she thought michael is just trying to trick Shawn to get some info or something but as he went on, it all made sense to her! Of course Michael is still torturing them. Of course they’re fighting tirelessly to get to the good place while knowing they actually are bound for hell! She literally felt, her heart break like never before.

Shawn on the other hand, was as happy as heartbroken Eleanor was! 

“Oh. My God.” Shawn says with a very impressed look on his face. “Michael, I must apologize. I very highly underestimated you. Why didn’t you let me in on it. We would’ve stopped chasing you. Instead we could’ve pretended to be chasing you to have the humans ‘fear for their lives’ and all.”

As he’s saying this he sees Eleanor.

“What’re you doing here” he asks, rather angrily, since he believes they’re going through an amazing torture plan and Eleanor might’ve heard it all and it’s probably ruined before he could join in.

Eleanor pretends like she didn’t hear anything and came their for Michael. 

“I’ve nothing to lose so I decided I’d join you guys here. Whatever it is you’ve Michael here for, you can have me too. Since we’re all in this together.” (She internally smiled at the irony of that last line since she false-fully believes Michael’s betraying them)

Shawn, feeling relieved, says he’s bored of them all, including Michael, and is moving on to a new experiment they’re all working on, and unties michael. While doing that he quietly tells him he’ll have Trevor contact him for further discussion on how to go ahead with this new plan he’s revealed, since he’s the only demon Eleanor believes is a fellow human instead.

Michael starts walking out with eleanor, she doesn’t say a word and they keep walking until they reach the neutral zone where they can call Janet to take them back to her void. But before he could do that, Eleanor stops him and finally talks.


	3. The Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor is done with the devil

“Dude look. I’ve actually heard everything you said. I’m done with your game!”

Michael stops her. “What? Oh come on Eleanor of course I was lying to get him to release me.” (he felt guilty on the inside as he knows the only reason he said all that crap was to prevent Shawn from completing his sentence) 

“Have you heard the human saying Michael, ‘fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on myself!’ And in this case, shame on all of us really, but specially me... I can’t believe I thought you changed! Ever since you joined our side I never doubted you for even a second! Ask anyone else and they’ll probably say they believed you because they had no choice but to believe you. But truly, I believed you without giving it a second thought. I blindly followed your lead. I actually considered you my friend Michael. 

Michael (on the verge of crying)

“But I AM your friend. Just.. let me explain. Please. I want nothing more than to want to send you and the rest of the gang to the good place. Believe me. I am, still, on your side. Everything you heard just now, my conversation with Shawn, was just to earn back their trust. I have a plan. See, once Shawn-“

Eleanor interrupts Michael.

“Save it michael. I’m done with you. Just.. I don’t get it. The judge knows all of this. What is the point of all you demons still hatching plans? There are actual real bad people worthy of your torture, why not just focus on them. Leave us alone, man. Let the judge find out what’s happened and end our lives on earth by herself. I’m not going to the void. You go ahead and play all the games you want. I’m going to the judge. I stole the pin you told me about on my way here, I thought we might need it. Actually, I stole two! I wouldn’t have left you behind.”

As she said this Michael remembered the time he couldn’t leave her behind and sacrificed himself to send her, but couldn’t actually reveal it to her. Instead he just stood still silently, shell shocked, and kind of in denial at Eleanor actually believing he’s betraying her.

“Ugh”, Eleanor continues, “they actually had one lying around but it’s the second pin I had to work hard for! I’m so mad at myself, I’m- I hate you Michael. You’re the worst! I mean, you already know this, I don’t let anyone into my life! And you, (Eleanor’s tone changes from being mad at Michael to being impressed by him) I gotta hand it to you michael, you really did innovate the whole torture game! While your initial plan of having four humans torture each other did indeed fail, your second plan, having a human get emotionally attached to a demon, worked out perfectly...”

Eleanor nods in disappointment, and starts walking towards the portal.

Michael knew Eleanor will herself call Janet to take her back to the void too once she realizes the only reason the pins were lying around is because they were made inactive once the humans had gotten their hands on them. He also knew that they have no option but to return to the judge anyway because there’s no going back to earth from the void, it’s only the neutral zone with Janet’s warehouse or judge’s chambers from there. 

Michael now had two options. Either let Eleanor hate him, until they all the go back to the judge, who upon absorbing the entirety of Michael’s existence will reveal he’s indeed on the humans’ side.

But that will be a long time from now, once they all agree they’re out of options, and he knows for a fact he can’t have eleanor hate him at all, let alone for an indefinite time! So he decides to go through with the second option, which is to complete Shawn’s sentence, himself...

“Eleanor wait.” He exclaims, breathlessly, as he catches up to her at the portal.  
“I wasn’t lying to Shawn to earn back his trust or because I have some new plan or any of that crap.”

Eleanor turns back, intrigued at Michael admitting what she believes is his betrayal.

“I only said all that to cut him off. See he knew something about me that, once you found out, you wouldn’t have stayed my friend anymore. So I just, couldn’t, let you to know... I saw you come in as he was about to say it. And to stop him I had to divert his attention from that to something truly shocking. And the lie that I’m still on their side was the only thing shocking enough.”

Eleanor isn’t buying any of this. Instead she’s finding his lame attempt of hiding his lies rather hilarious.

“And what is that?” She asks, in an enjoyable curious tone. “I know you’re a literal demon. From literal hell. Who intended to torture us for eternity. I also know you have infact tortured us already for so long. I mean, what else could possibly exist that would me make me no longer want to be friends with you? That you just. couldn’t. let me know?” 

They’re both speaking in rather high volumes because of the intensity of the situation. So Michael lowers his voice, and in a calm tone finally says it..


	4. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael is afraid of telling Eleanor anything at all, but once he starts, he doesn’t want to stop...

“I’m in love with you, Eleanor!”

Eleanor was ready for him to say literally anything, as she knew her only reaction would be to laugh and continue walking away. But this, this rendered a different reaction.

“What?” She instantly blurts out, while trying to get herself to think how low could michael stoop to continue with his lies. But she’s unable to think that. Instead she’s not thinking anything at all! This is uncharted territory for her. While she has heard it back (from Chidi, that too she doesn’t remember, only knows it happened) no one has ever actually told her they loved her by themselves...

“I love you.” Michael repeats, this time in a much more confident way. Saying it out loud felt so good that, he no longer cared about the consequences. He loves being able to say it, and he now wants her to know it.

“What do you mean?” Eleanor asks, no longer pretending but actually curious. While she knows what it literally means, she can’t actually let herself believe that Michael is in love with her, in the actual sense. So she starts making up what this actually represents. 

“You’re still on our side, you still love all of us, bla bla. If you’re so desperate to having me believe you, why not just reboot us again or whatever, i mean your boss is now in on it too so, do that, please, instead of playing these mind games with me.”

Michael knows Eleanor knows what he means, and is indeed desperate for her to stop pretending this is still about who’s side he’s on and actually believe in the literary meaning of what he’s saying!

“Oh Eleanor. I wish this was some kind of mind game I was playing but really, this is not about our good place/bad place fates. There’s actually no other meaning to it at all. It’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m in love with you. Look, this pin, that you’re flaunting, thinking it will take you through the portal to the judge, this no longer works. You want to go to the judge, you’ll  
have to go back with me to Janet’s void. Once we’re with the judge she’ll clear all your doubts about me, that we are in this together, just as you told Shawn. But it’s no longer about that for me... I’d long started suspecting something was up with me, everytime I was around you. I felt, exceptionally happy, like, nothing else in the universe mattered. All that mattered was you, with me, wherever we were, whatever we did. And then it was not just the happy times, it was, as you humans say, in sickness in health, in joy in sorrow-“

“We say that at weddings!” Eleanor instantly reveals. “To the person we’re getting married to.”

“To the person you’re in love with...” Michael completes her sentence.

“Eleanor, before the judge sent you all back to earth, while we were escaping the bad place trying to get to the judge. exactly where we are right now, at this portal, after the rest of the gang went through, I only had one of these pins left, and of course both of us had to escape. There was no time to try searching for the other one because Shawn saw me helping you escape and was on his way to come stop us. Do you know what I did then?”

Eleanor felt her heart race, as she knew exactly what he was about to reveal.

“I scarified myself and saved you.“

Eleanor, with her heart still racing, asks him, “And then what happened”

“Well Shawn got hold of me, and for letting you all escape he put me in this room full of New Yorkers as a means to torture me for eternity for betraying him. Thankfully our Janet had disguised as the bad Janet and, at the last moment saved me and locked Shawn in that room instead. Then we joined you all in the judge’s chambers, I convinced her to send you all back to earth. And here we are..”

“Wow.” Eleanor begins talking as she’s processing all this. “I’m- I’m sorry.” Eleanor knows before anything else, she owes him an apology, like seriously.


	5. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor reveals why she was so quick to doubt Michael, one thing leads to another, and...

“Honestly, it’s just that everything you were telling Shawn, made so much sense.”

-“Eleanor I don’t ask that you love me back. But we are friends. Close friends. You should’ve had little faith in me”

-“I do. In fact I had like 100% faith in you. But, look, remember how you showed me how I fell in love with Chidi during one of the reboots?”

-“yes?”

-“well, I told this to Chidi and, after Shawn took you with him, we all kind of knew this is the end, and in midst of that Chidi told me he’s sorry, but it’s better if we just stayed friends, so as to not complicate things any further and, then I just truly didn’t have anything to lose and I came here. And the first thing I heard was you saying you’re still torturing us, and believe me, there’s no better torture than one sided love”

-“I agree...” Michael says in a, rather sad tone.

-“Oh” Eleanor realizes what she’s just said. “Michael.” Eleanor finds herself speechless. 

-“Look I’m sure Chidi loves you too. There’s just a lot going on right now and, you know how he gets with decisions with all his stomach aches and everything. Besides, I only have the reboot attempts on record so that’s all I could show you. But there’s more. The memories I showed you, of you both saying you love each other at Mindy’s, she has them on record too. Don’t think much about it she’s kind of a perv, you’ll know what I mean if you ever get to meet her again. Anyways, she gave it to you during the final reboot and, you showed it to Chidi, and he at that time too said he doesn’t have any such feelings for you. However, while we were in the judges chambers, he kissed you! Now I didn’t actually see it happen but you told it to me. Sadly, shortly after that, your memories were erased and you were all sent back to earth.”

-“why are you telling me this?”  
-“so that you stop dwelling on your feelings for Chidi. Give him time.”

-“okay and, what about your feelings for me? Now that you know you’re in love with me why are you reminding me of that time Chidi kissed me?“

-“because I didn’t just now realize I love you, I’ve known for a while now. I actually knew it while I reminded you that you fell in love with Chidi in the first place. I mean, if I wanted I won’t have said it at all.“

-“then why did you?”  
-“I didn’t just tell you, I even showed it to you. Again, I could’ve just not told you Janet had it all on record. But I did”

-“yeah I get that. Why?”

-“because, I love you. I didn’t want you to think you’re incapable of love when I clearly saw it happen. And I didn’t want you to be deprived of knowing how it felt when I clearly know I can show you exactly how you felt!”

-“wow. How long have you known though?”

-“Janet brought it with her when we went on earth.”

-“no not the record! How long have you known.. that you’re in love with me?”

-“oh. as i told you, after I sent you through the portal instead of going myself, Shawn had caught me. I had kind of started to believe that this was it, for me at least, I really hoped you guys could figure something out with the judge. Anyways as I was thinking this I kind of replayed all of the reboots and the escaping in my head, like how a person’s entire life flashes before their eyes when they have a near death experience. And during that I realized, I didn’t even think for a second before deciding to save you instead of me. I mean, I get that I’d had a change of heart, I cared about you all I wanted to save you all, but, that was different, with you... Anyways I’ve known since then, and very honestly I never wanted you to find out. “

-“why not?”

-“because, you obviously don’t return my feelings and would feel awkward around me and as a result we’d stop being friends all together.. and also because, I knew that once I told you, no matter how often I said otherwise, I WILL want you to return my feelings”

-“Michael I never actually said I don’t return your feelings...”

-“But, you’re in love with Chidi, isn’t it?”

-“that’s.. before I knew how you felt.”

-“and now that you do..? What’s different?”

-“Look. I don’t know what I feel for you exactly, but its definitely not nothing.”

-“Oh Eleanor, now you’re playing mind games with me, don’t do that, please... I really do love you. In fact you’re the first person I’ve ever fallen in love with. Don’t do this to me.”

-“I’m not doing anything, I’m just telling you that, I don’t know, I don’t completely not have feelings, that’s all.”

-“you’re making me hopeful. Look, I’ve made my peace with you never falling for me back. Don’t put ideas in my head. The first time I realized this, there was so much going on with you all on earth, I didn’t have time to think about it. But this time, with you in front of me, at the exact spot I realized I was in love with you, this time it will hurt. A lot. Because I have nothing else to lose. I don’t see the judge sending me to the good place since I went against her and met you all on earth. And hell too wouldn’t want me, after Shawn finds out what an elaborate lie I’ve just now told him! And then for me to realize, for the second time, that you don’t want me either-“

Eleanor’s heart started racing again, watching Michael say all these things, how she’s his first love, and how her not loving him back would hurt him, a lot. But, she knew this wasn’t the case anymore. She tried to say him, it’s not like her heart has no feelings for him at all, but he took her words as a mind game. 

So she decided to explain him what’s going on in her heart another way, and while he was saying so surely that she doesn’t want him, she kissed him.

This was not only their first kiss but also Michael’s first kiss ever, with her first love. Needless to say, the world around did stop existing. 

Right in front of that portal, Eleanor pulled him towards her, and started kissing him. Michael realizes what is happening, and stops caring about what it means, and kisses her back, gently holding her face in one hand, and stroking her hair with the other.

They slowly break away from the kiss, breathlessly looking at each other...

Eleanor knew she wanted to kiss him and so she did. But she didn’t know anything else. And Michael knew that Eleanor herself is unsure of what exactly she wants. But he also knew, that this might be as good as it gets with them. And also that, this was the happiest he’s ever been. And so, before Eleanor could say anything, he calls Janet, and she takes them back to her void, while they are still looking at each other, with both their hearts still racing...


End file.
